His chains fell off his hands; the gate opened by itself!

Acts 12:1-19 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. ² And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. ³ When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

⁶ On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

In Matthew 16:15-19, Jesus asks His disciples a question and makes a declaration according to the answer.    “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”    It is upon the foundation, the rock of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Savior, Lord and King that Jesus says He will build His church, His ekklesia, His body of believers called apart to rule in authority. He says that upon the revelation, the knowledge that He is the Christ, the church will have the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the authority to bind and loose things on earth as they are in heaven. It is the knowledge and the declaration  that Jesus is that Christ, which brings about the answer to the prayer which Jesus taught us to pray:  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

In today’s text it says:  Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.    Peter was bound on earth, bound and held captive by an earthly authority. The text continues:   On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.     In the kingdom of heaven, Peter was not in bondage, he was free. The fervent prayers of the church went beyond the natural physical realm and brought the realities of the kingdom of heaven to earth. Peter was loosed from the chains that bound him. Like the very gates of hell, the prison gate could not stand against the authority of the church, in Christ. Jesus says: “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)   The text said that the church was praying fervently. James 5:16 says: The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The text continues:  When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.   Jesus says: “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” (Mark 11:24)  The church was praying fervently but it seems as though they thought that their answer might only be manifested in the heavenly realm. They thought that Peter was merely a messenger from heaven, that their prayers were answered in heaven, but not on earth. We too, sometimes even when we pray fervently, expect that our prayers will only be answered in the heavenly realm. We pray for a healing miracle, and acknowledge that in heaven there will be no sickness, disease or infirmity. We pray, if it is Your will. The thing is, the will of God is not the question. Isaiah 53:5 says:  He (Jesus Christ) was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.  We are healed already. That is the way it is in the heavenly realm. It is finished, complete, fully accomplished in Jesus sacrifice on the cross. All that is left is that we believe, that we become the church that Jesus desires to build, that we pray fervently that those things whichare bound on earth would be loosed on earth as they already are in heaven. Our fervent prayer is not enough if we are content to leave the results in heaven. They are already accomplished and complete there. We need to pray believing that we have already received. We need to pray that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven, that the realities of the finished work of the cross would be manifested in the circumstances on earth, that like Peter, people would be set free here and now.

The chains that held Peter could not stand against the reality of heaven. The gate of the prison opened. What was loosed in heaven, was being loosed on earth.  The text ends saying:  Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution.   The very things which caused bondage on earth are the things which are bound and have no power in the heavenly realm.

In the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority we have through the revelation and the declaration that He is the Christ, may we fervently pray. May we understand and believe Your will heavenly Father, that what is already accomplished and complete in heaven would be manifested here on earth. Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus the Christ and precious Holy Spirit, I pray that today any who read this who are in bondage, whether the bondage of sickness, addiction or sin would be loosed here on earth as they are already, in heaven. Believing that even the very gates of hell, where the enemy who tries to kill and destroy, enters our lives, cannot stand against the authority we have in Christ. I pray that you would bind up the things which are afflicting Your people on earth and that You lock the very gate they try to enter. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Amen.